The inventor has conducted a patent search on the above identified invention and has located the following United States patents:
The Asaro patent discloses an avalanche rescue marker system which utilizes a balloon attached by a brightly colored tether to a jacket worn by an avalanche victim. The balloon is operable to be filled with lighter-than-air material, such as helium, so, hopefully, it will float above avalanche snow and debris to clearly locate the victim buried by the subject avalanche.
The Hodel patent discloses an avalanche survival vest to be worn around the chest by skiers and mountaineers and operable to provide oxygen to breathe and to serve as a flotation device to help victims survive if caught in an avalanche. The Hodel patent also discloses that the vest has a CO2 absorber chamber, a mouthpiece breathing hose, and a compressed oxygen cartridge which can be released instantly by biting hard on the mouthpiece hose or pushing a button on the mouthpiece hose.
The Allsop et al patent discloses an avalanche victim locating apparatus and is mainly a special type of transmitter beacon signal plus an alarm device to be heard by avalanche rescuers. There are numerous types of transmitter beacons known in the prior art as will be discussed.
There are some 2000 reported avalanches in the State of Colorado each season (many times they are not reported).
In Switzerland alone, an average of 100 persons die in avalanches each year. As many as 150 to 200 per year for the entire Alpine Region. In the United States, an average of 20 persons per year die in avalanches (approximately 12 per year in Colorado).
Persons killed by avalanches, as reported to one organization, the CSAC, for the year 1995 through Jan. 19, 1999.
These statistics DO NOT include the countries of Austria, Italy, Germany, or Japan (and a few other minor countries).
If we include the fatality estimates for these countries, as stated in xe2x80x9cThe Avalanche Bookxe2x80x9d, a respected and authoritative work on the subject of avalanches, then the world-wide total would go to 742 fatalities for that period.
These fatalities occurred in just the last 4 seasons with today""s best available technology.
By far, most victims who are equipped with radio beacons are found and rescued. Many are not, or are found too late. By far, most avalanches victims die of suffocation from snow burial within the first 30 minutes or less.
The applicant""s concept is to provide a compact, lightweight chest pack which is small enough and lightweight enough that it will not restrict, in any way, free movement of a skier or other user, and will contain everything necessary for avalanche survival (assuming there are no serious physical injuries).
In the event of an avalanche, an avalanche survival pack assembly of this invention would be instantly activated within just a few seconds. All of the components of this invention are fully automatic and actuated by one simple action on the part of the skier or other user by simply opening a closure flap assembly on a main support chest pack assembly.
The key elements of a successful rescue of an avalanche victim consist of 1) locating the avalanche victim quickly; and 2) enabling the avalanche victim buried under avalanche snow and debris to breathe for a longer period of time, up to 60 minutes, greatly enhancing chances of survival.
The avalanche survival pack assembly provides two ways to aid in the avalanche victim being located as follows:
1) providing a radio beacon with xe2x80x9cReceivexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cTransmitxe2x80x9d modes and the beacon is automatically switched to xe2x80x9cTransmitxe2x80x9d mode in case the avalanche victim forgot to do so ahead of time which can be accomplished mechanically or electronically; and
2) having a 50 foot longxc3x971xe2x80x3 wide brightly colored nylon ribbon member which is coiled up and attached to the main support chest pack assembly on one end and falls out by gravity upon the avalanche victim opening the closure flap assembly.
The ribbon, which may be of fluorescent orange color, is allowed to xe2x80x9cfloat freexe2x80x9d as the avalanche victim is being carried down the slope. Portions of the orange ribbon member should be visible above the surface of the snow, enabling rescuers to locate the avalanche victim.
The avalanche survival pack assembly provides three ways to keep victims alive until rescued, as follows:
1) a mask assembly covers a nose, mouth and chin area of the avalanche victim which keeps the air passages open and free from snow while allowing the avalanche victim to breathe;
2) an automatic, oxygen breathing system comprised of a pair of small, lightweight, high pressure mini-oxygen cylinders connected to a pressure regulator assembly which reduces the pressure down to 20 PSI; and low pressure oxygen is connected to an automatic oxygen conserving assembly which releases small, metered bursts of 95% pure oxygen to the avalanche victim through the nose/mouth mask assembly; and
3) the avalanche survival pack assembly contains a xc2xdxe2x80x3 thick foam padded area, next to the user""s chest area, which will a) provide for chest cavity expansion; and b) contain a material that will absorb CO2.
In one preferred embodiment of this invention, an avalanche survival pack assembly is operable to be supported on the waist, shoulder, and chest area of a skier or other user who is normally in a ski area having a great possibility of avalanche danger due to unstable snow conditions. The skier normally is traversing the snow on skis and having ski poles to aid in movement.
The avalanche survival pack assembly is operable to provide means to increase a chance of survival when the skier or other user suddenly becomes an avalanche victim and may be covered with several inches or feet of snow. A rescue effort needs to be convened immediately as the possibility of survival of the avalanche victim decreases rapidly in a short period of time.
The avalanche survival pack assembly includes 1) a main support chest pack assembly or means; 2) an oxygen supply assembly or means mounted within the main support chest pack assembly; 3) an auxiliary power supply assembly mounted within the main support chest pack assembly; 4) a radio signal transmit beacon assembly mounted within the main support chest pack assembly and operable to transmit an emergency radio signal; 5) a visual location indicator assembly mounted within the main support chest pack assembly and operable to dispense and trail a visual ribbon member when automatically released from the main support chest pack assembly; and 6) a control circuit assembly operably connected from an auxiliary power supply assembly, to the radio signal transmit beacon assembly, and the oxygen supply assembly to provide a sufficient auxiliary power supply.
The main support chest pack assembly includes 1) a main pack assembly; 2) an accessory pocket assembly; 3) a battery pack pocket assembly; 4) a filler valve pocket assembly; 5) a radio beacon pocket assembly; 6) a waist support assembly for securing about a waist area of a user thereof; and 7) a shoulder harness assembly adapted to be placed about a shoulder area of the user thereof for vertical support.
The main pack assembly includes 1) a main pack member; and 2) a closure flap assembly. The main pack member has a pack container cavity defined by a back wall, an intermediate wall, a bottom wall, a front wall, opposed side walls, and a top wall.
Further, the main pack member includes 1) a bottom support member; 2) a CO2 absorbing foam member; 3) Velcro connector hook members for attachment to the closure flap assembly; and 4) a ribbon support strap.
The closure flap assembly includes 1) a main closure flap member pivotally connected by a closure hinge member to the front wall of the main pack member; 2) Velcro connector loop members engageable with Velcro connector hook members on the main pack member so as to hold in a closed condition; and 3) detach pull ring members mounted on a top surface of the closure flap member operable to be pulled forwardly of the users chest area to disconnect the Velcro connector hook members from the Velcro connector loop members when in an xe2x80x9cactivatedxe2x80x9d condition as will be explained.
The waist support assembly includes a support strap member to be placed about a waist area of a skier or other user and having a snap lock belt buckle member to secure the support strap member about the waist area.
The shoulder harness assembly includes a pair of spaced shoulder strap members placed about the shoulder area of the user and having thereon respective snap lock strap buckle members to hold in a secure adjusted position.
The oxygen supply assembly includes 1) an oxygen supply reservoir assembly; 2) a cylinder connector assembly interconnecting a pair of high pressure oxygen cylinder members in the oxygen supply reservoir assembly; 3) a pressure regulator assembly connected to the cylinder connector assembly to regulate a usage pressure of oxygen to be utilized by an avalanche victim; 4) a pressure gauge assembly connected to the pressure regulator assembly to visually indicate the pressure of oxygen being dispensed therefrom; 5) an oxygen conserving assembly to receive oxygen from the pressure regulator assembly operable to extend time of obtaining life-sustaining oxygen from the oxygen cylinder members; and 6) a nose/mouth mask assembly for receiving the oxygen being dispensed from the oxygen conserving assembly and to supply same to the avalanche victim in a manner to be explained.
The oxygen supply reservoir assembly includes a pair of oxygen cylinder members, each having a main body member and a threaded discharge opening at an upper end thereof. These oxygen cylinder members are adapted to contain highly pressurized gas, such as oxygen, of 3,000 PSI so as to maintain a one hour supply of oxygen to the avalanche victim in a manner to be explained.
The cylinder connector assembly connects each oxygen cylinder member to the pressure regulator assembly.
The pressure regulator assembly includes a discharge opening which is to be connected to the oxygen conserving assembly to supply 20 PSI oxygen thereto.
The pressure gauge assembly includes a pressure gauge member having a pressure indicator dial to indicate the pressure that is being discharged to the oxygen conserving assembly.
The oxygen conserving assembly includes 1) an oxygen conserving member; 2) an oxygen inlet hose assembly; 3) an oxygen outlet hose assembly; and 4) a battery member to provide a power supply to the oxygen conserving member.
The oxygen conserving member is available in the prior art operable to supply a controlled amount of oxygen to prolong the time of supplying life-sustaining oxygen from the oxygen cylinder members to the avalanche victim.
The oxygen inlet hose assembly includes 1) an outlet hose fitting connected to the pressure regulator assembly; 2) an outlet hose member having one end connected to the outlet hose fitting; and 3) a device inlet fitting connected to an outlet end of the outlet hose member and to oxygen conserving assembly.
The oxygen outlet assembly includes a device outlet fitting connected to the oxygen conserving member and having connected thereto an outlet hose member. An outer end of the outlet hose member is connected to the nose/mouth mask assembly.
As best noted in FIGS. 7 and 8, the nose/mouth mask assembly includes a face mask assembly which is connected by a mask inlet fitting to the outlet hose member of the oxygen outlet hose assembly of the oxygen conserving assembly.
The face mask assembly includes face mask member which is secured by a strong elastic anchor strap assembly about a head area of an avalanche victim in a manner to be explained.
The face mask member includes 1) a main nose section; 2) a main mouth section integral with the main nose section; and 3) a nose strap member made of a bendable metallic material to achieve more custom fitting around a nose area of an avalanche victim.
The main nose section has 1) a plurality of air discharge openings in a circle on opposite side walls and 2) a discharge valve member associated with each opposed groupings of the air discharge openings.
The discharge valve members are a plastic valve member secured as by respective anchor members so as to cover the respective grouping of air discharge openings to act as a flapper one-way valve to allow discharge air from the avalanche victim to exit the face mask member.
The main mouth section includes a teeth grip member having one anchor end secured to an inner portion of the main mouth section and an outer bite section to be clamped by an avalanche victim to hold the entire face mask member in an adjacent usage condition as will be explained.
The nose strap member is made of a bendable metal material secured to the main nose section as by anchor members.
The nose strap member can be bent by an avalanche victim""s fingers to achieve a desired seal about the avalanche victim""s nose area which, in conjunction with the anchor strap assembly, achieves a sealing of the face mask member to the avalanche victim""s face area about the nose and mouth area.
The auxiliary power supply assembly includes a battery back housing having a pair of battery members therein. The battery members are interconnected in series, each having a positive pole and a negative pole.
The auxiliary power supply assembly is to provide an additional supply of electrical energy, being a 3.0 volt power supply, to assure that the radio signal transmit beacon assembly and the oxygen supply assembly are operable to be continuously energized for up to at least one hour while supplying oxygen to an avalanche victim.
The radio signal transmit beacon assembly is known in the prior art and includes an avalanche rescue beacon member energized by a beacon battery member and transmitting a radio signal in all directions in hopes that avalanche rescuers will find the avalanche victim in the shortest time period due to receiving the transmitted radio signals on a receiver member held by the respective avalanche rescuers.
The visual location indicator assembly includes a coiled ribbon member supported within the main pack assembly and one end thereof, being an anchor end, is secured to the intermediate wall of the main pack member and a free end trails the avalanche victim when in a condition of an uncoiled ribbon member.
The coiled ribbon member has the free end which, when the closure flap assembly is pulled outwardly to the emergency usage condition, the free end is allowed to flow outwardly therefrom and, hopefully, would be visible to the avalanche rescuers on top of the snow and debris created by the avalanche.
During emergency usage, the uncoiled ribbon member has thereon a direction indicia with an arrow indicia so that when observed by the avalanche rescuers, the arrow indicia would point in the direction of the avalanche victim. This is very important so that the avalanche rescuers are not proceeding in the wrong direction in case the free end is buried within the snow and debris created by the avalanche.
The control circuit assembly utilizes the respective battery members in the radio signal transmit beacon assembly and the oxygen supply assembly with the auxiliary power supply assembly to assure that sufficient electrical energy is available to filly energize the electrical elements for a period of at least one hour or more.
A light assembly is provided in the main support chest pack assembly with a light bulb therein on the outer front portion of the main pack assembly so as to provide light therein to add comfort to the avalanche victim. This light bulb is automatically energized when the enclosure flap assembly is pulled downwardly to the activated condition which also automatically energizes the radio signal transmit beacon assembly and the oxygen supply assembly. These are automatically energized once the closure flap assembly has been pulled even if the avalanche victim has been knocked unconscious during tumbling down a hill with the avalanche snow and debris.
One object of this invention is to provide an avalanche survival pack assembly to be worn on a chest area of a downhill or cross country skier or other user when in an avalanche area and providing means thereon for survival with an oxygen supply reservoir assembly connected through an oxygen conserving assembly to provide oxygen supplied through a nose/mouth mask assembly to the avalanche victim for at least a one hour period.
Another object of this invention is to provide an avalanche survival pack assembly including a main support chest pack assembly to be worn on a person""s chest area and being able to 1) supply oxygen through a nose/mouth mask assembly for a period of one hour or more; 2) transmit radio signals through a radio signal transmit beacon assembly which can be received by avalanche rescuers; and 3) provide a visual location indicator assembly having a ribbon member that will be trailed out from the avalanche victim and, hopefully, a portion thereof will be visible on a top layer of the avalanche snow pack for the rescuers to find and locate the avalanche victim.
One other object of this invention is to provide an avalanche survival pack assembly having a main support chest pack assembly operable to receive and support thereon 1) an oxygen supply assembly; 2) an auxiliary power supply assembly; 3) a radio signal transmit beacon assembly to transmit radio signals therefrom; and 4) a visual location indicator assembly operable to trail a brightly colored ribbon member behind the avalanche victim while being tumbled down the avalanche occurring mountain in hopes of providing a visual indicator as to the location of the avalanche victim.
A further object of this invention is to provide an avalanche survival pack assembly including a main support chest pack assembly to receive and support numerous items therein necessary to survive while being buried under an avalanche snow pack and having therein an oxygen supply assembly having an oxygen supply reservoir assembly with oxygen cylinder members connected to a pressure regulator assembly and an oxygen conserving assembly to provide a pulsating and predetermined amount of oxygen to a nose/mouth mask assembly to be worn about the avalanche victim""s face area to provide a supply of life sustaining oxygen to the avalanche victim for a period of one hour or longer.
One further object of this invention is to provide an avalanche survival pack assembly having numerous elements conveyed by a main support chest pack assembly to be worn against a user""s chest area and supported by a shoulder harness assembly and a waist support assembly and having therein 1) an oxygen supply means to provide oxygen to the avalanche victim through a nose/mouth mask assembly; 2) being automatically operable to energize an auxiliary power supply assembly to supply power through a controlled circuit assembly to a radio signal transmit beacon assembly, a light member, and an oxygen conserving assembly and 3) automatically operable to release a visual location indicator assembly, being an elongated brightly colored ribbon member, having arrow indicia thereon hoping that at least a portion of the ribbon member will be visible on top of the packed avalanche snow for the avalanche rescuers to find and quickly evacuate the avalanche victim from being buried in the snow environment.
Still, one other object of this invention is to provide an avalanche survival pack assembly which is readily carried against a chest area of a user thereof; being lightweight; substantially maintenance free; sturdy in construction; economical to manufacture; reliable in operation so as to automatically energize a radio signal transmit beacon assembly and an oxygen supply assembly; automatically dispensing a visual location indicator assembly when the user finds itself in a path of an avalanche and possibly being buried and subject to possible suffocation and hypothermia within a dense snow pack.
Various other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following discussion, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: